Child actress Dakota Fanning, who recently emerged from a rather gangly stage to reveal a braces-free, poised young teen, may not be the “America’s sweetheart” everyone saw recently on Oprah. In a new interview, Australian film director Rowan Woods, who directed Fanning recently in “Winged Creatures,” didn’t have many kind words for the youngster.

Woods said his high profile cast was a pleasure to work with except for teenage starlet Dakota Fanning, who could be a diva on the set.

She initially refused to come out of her trailer on day one of shooting because her scene wasn’t filmed first, and was “intensely jealous” of her young co-star Josh Hutcherson.

“Everyone was on their best behaviour on this film because they have got a `really serious Australian director who is known for his ensemble work’,” Woods laughed.

“(Fanning) was the only one who was naughty.”

Woods said while he thinks Fanning is a fine actor, on this film she didn’t hit the mark.

“She is a gorgeous girl … but she was the disaster,” he said.

“There was something about her presence that wasn’t ringing true.

“Most of our work was cutting her scenes and a lot of her scenes were cut.”

So, Dakota is like most of the other child stars (and adult actors) in Hollywood: demanding and self centered. No big surprise there. What does surprise me is this director’s candidness about it. Can you imagine if directors like Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg came out at a press conference before a big opening and just started dissing the actors? Maybe the rules of disclosure are different in Australia. Something tells me that this Rowan Woods guy probably won’t be getting a lot of directing jobs in Hollywood.

Top photo: Dakota Fanning arriving at LAX in February 2008. Bottom photos: Dakota at “The Secret Life of Bees” premiere, October 2008. Photo credit: Bauergriffin.com and WENN

Gah! Why burden her with this ridiculous America’s Sweetheart thing in the first place? I think the director is incredibly unprofessional here, a 50yr old man picking on a 14yr old girl. Who’s to say he’s not the complete ar*se here and the attention-seeking one?

Unlike many child actors lets remember Anna Chlumsky,Dakota has grown to be a very good looking girl so its no surprise that after many years of being pampered as the sweet kid she now starts to act like a spoiled famous teen.Maybe she liked her uptown girls role too much haha.

If she in fact is acting like a diva (hope not) then I think this director just did her a huge favor. Nip this crap in the bud now before it’s too late.
When Lilo did that movie with Jane Fonda and the she and director didn’t let her get away with her shit, I think it was a really good move. Wish more directors and fellow actors would have the balls to speak up. The last thing we need is another two-faced starlet who doesn’t know whom to trust and gets lost among all her admirers and handlers. If people really care about her, they’ll set her straight now.

For the record, I know a woman who, by accident or intention I do not know, plucked away all her natural eyebrows and for who knows how many decades now has to draw them on with eyebrow pencil.

That’s not outrageous. Not brilliant, but hey, it happens.

What’s outrageous is the woman was married to her husband for 20+, maybe 30+ years, he was the father of her four sons. He was having a heart attack and I guess neither of them wanted to call 911, so the Mrs. No Eyebrows was going to drive him to ER. She drove him AFTER she stopped to ”put on my eyebrows, first, OF COURSE”. He came through the heart attack fine, more or less, but did commit suicide a few years later.

Ban makeup, hair dye, all the artifical horrors that make us think natural beauty ISN’T!

It might be typical behavior of teenagers, but she’s in a position to affect the careers and lives of countless crew members who need her to be, first and foremost, a professional. Yes, most actors/teenagers/people are selfish, but they don’t HAVE to be.

Well…there are degrees of teen diva behavior. All teenage girls indulge in melodrama and have an overinflated sense of their own importance. That said, there IS a difference between your average girl and a standard issue bitch.

Contrary to popular sentiment, not all teen girls are selfish and without circumspection. Having been around young people of the mid-teens my entire life due to having a family full of teachers and professors…I can say with confidence that there are a great many genuinely sweet, empathic, and “good” teenage girls in the world.

I hope Miss Fanning is one of them, but fame and money at so early an age would be a terrible obstacle for anyone to overcome in retaining realistic ideas about one’s place and significance in the world. If she’s a nasty little brat…she is old enough to be held accountable for it. 14 is perfectly well within the age of reason.

To be honest, that is incredibly unprofessional behavior for a director. You shouldn’t EVER criticize your actors that blatantly and without any kind of class, and it is specifically the director’s job to get a good performance out of them if they aren’t “hitting the mark.” Very unprofessional, probably a hack director.

it might be unprofessional but kudos to him. as a child star, she should be trying to impress her directors, not the other way around. she surely wants to keep acting, and to develop a diva reputation when you’ve really done nothing to earn it is the fastest way to being 40 with 3 kids and a cpa husband (not that there is anything wrong with that, but most hollywood types would probably rather die.)

I agree with Geronimo on one thing: the America’s Sweetheart thing is premature and burdening. While Fanning is an excellent actress, she doesn’t strike me one bit as being a constantly sweet little thing. From what I’ve heard she takes herself and her work very seriously and sometimes even more than her castmates. In this instance, it looks like she might have gone overboard with it.
It is weird this director would come out with such extreme words about her. It’s unprofessional to me in the sense that this film is going to get him (and others whom he might depend on later) money and to carelessly put profits in jeopardy like that is not a good idea.

On the other hand, she might have been so atrociously bratty and diva-like on set that the man just couldn’t contain his annoyance and anger any longer. Sometimes situations like this really push you over the edge and you don’t care who or what you sabotage (even if it’s your own reputation or wallet) in order to tell somebody, anybody, the truth about a person who made your job ever so difficult. I really wonder what went down on that set but I suppose we will never fully and truly know.

When you are 14, you are insecure with yourself and trying to make your mark on the world. She already has her work cut out for her trying to outdo the next person. Her career’s future depends on most of these roles, but at the same time, let her be a kid while she’s still a kid.

It’s very important not to be critical of children at this age as they can develop a severe inferiority complex and pick up several destructive habits just to “fit in/belong” so they can have the acceptance of their peers.

I am very upset and disappointed on behalf of Dakota that such untruths have spun around the internet in regards to Dakota and WINGED CREATURES and that those opinions be attributed to me. They are not my opinions.

My only WINGED CREATURES interview since completing the movie was this one…

Dakota Fanning is an incredible actor and a wonderful person. She is brilliant as Anne in WINGED CREATURES. The climactic scene of the movie is the most difficult scene and she hits it out of the park.

My only advice for people that read such things is: watch the movie, judge for yourself. I am proud to be associated with Dakota’s amazing performance.

Danielle, when I was 14 I got plenty of instruction on how to behave. Some of it was criticism. I lived and thrived. Criticizing behavior is part of how we become functioning members of society, rather than doing whatever we feel like, regardless of how it affects other people. This isn’t the only message Dakota Fanning is getting. Hopefully unabashed adoration isn’t the only one she’s gotten in the past, because that isn’t good either–but it wouldn’t surprise me if that is the case.

That’s called bullying, Kate. And it should be a less reality in our society. Comparing America to Ireland, for example. In America when I work, I’m told the many ways I’m doing it wrong and people just generally take a very negative approach to everything and distract me from doing my job efficiently. In Ireland they’re happy that I do as I’m told and leave me the hell alone so I can do my work.

It actually took me a while to get used to praise when all I ever heard growing up and working was criticism. I developed a severe inferiority complex because I was always being compared to the “best” person. I did eventually thrive but it was only through encouragement that I FLOURISHED. I was pursuing nursing but I dropped that to study my passion of psychology. I just think I’d be better at that than having to watch horrific scenes in a hospital that make even SAW seem tame in comparison.

Let the poor girl be who she is. If she’s a diva, then so be it. As long as she’s happy with herself then who gives a damn if anyone else is?

“Everyone was on their best behaviour on this film because they have got a `really serious Australian director who is known for his ensemble work’,” Woods laughed

What a pompous a%&! He sure does have a high opinion of himself. It sounds like he is trying to give himself some instant cred over here in the states as a “serious director” while at the same time setting up a fall guy(or girl) if his movie flops. What a tool.

I disagree that we should surround young people in a bubble of praise and never point out or demonstrate flaws. Shame is a natural emotion and should be something we all feel when we are wrong…especially when we have been wrong because we hurt or disrespected the feelings of someone else.

Naturally, you don’t want to constantly beat down a kid’s self-esteem, and no rational person will ever advocate following someone around telling them constantly that they are insufficient.

Raising a kid, however, with nothing but accolades in your parenting playbook is foolish and a dereliction of duty. Children who grow up never having had to confront bad feelings or admit personal failings will have a miserable adulthood–not to mention becoming entitled, obnoxious, and too emotionally fragile to develop meaningful relationships.

Not all criticism is evil…and it certainly is NOT bullying to teach a child proper humility and methods of self-reflection when they have misbehaved or mistreated someone.

I am the mother of a soon-to-be-14 year old girl. I can’t imagine putting her into a situation like Dakota’s lifestyle. The pressure must be overwhelming. That said, there’s no excuse for being rude or disrespectful. That’s not an age thing- it comes down to the way you were raised. A hard and fast rule in this house is, you respect your elders and treat people the way you want to be treated. That doesn’t get thrown out the window just because a kid hits puberty. A parent or adult correcting a child’s undesirable or unacceptable behavior isn’t bullying. It’s saving them a lifetime of anguish and social alienation.

“Let her be who she wants to be,” – but what if she wants to be an asshole?

ugh i cant stand this little girl! have you seen the skits on SNL “the dakota fanning show!” with amy poehler? that was exactly how i imagine her to be in real life hahaa! something about her really really bugs me. and for people to say shes such a great actress, i mean, shes alright…
and yes, 14 certainly are bitches! i work as a mgr in a popular teen-young adult clothing store and really cant stand half the customers because they are little abnoxious teen girls! ugh!

actors’s performances are the director’s responsibility — especially 13 year old girls’ — and then to trash her in public for his own failure? Unbelievable. Not a great way to get her on talk shows about his own movie. And to play the hero for “fighting for Forest,” that’s not his limelight to grab, it’s stealing a victim’s story for your own aggrandizement — it’s not this blowhard’s right to announce it in public with himself as hero — it’s just gross.

It does not matter if you do or don’t agree with him putting her on blast. If she keeps acting this way she won’t get another JOB. News travels fast in Hollywood. I’m sure her agent is not happy.

This is one of the reasons why we have 20 year olds playing high school students in movies.

Oh and seeing that I’m the ONLY one on here to have worked on a movie set, let me tell you that NOT coming out on a set as an actor when it is time costs time, and thousands of dollars. Because of this an action like that pisses off directors, producers, and studio exects.

Don’t believe me? Ask Lohan who she got a letter from for pulling the same shit.

I for one think the director is probably blowing things way out of proportion. She is barely in her teens and she is going through that phase. I, for one, can not see her as this so called diva. she seems way too sweet and innocent for this to be true. I am a huge fan of hers and will not believe this garbage unless I see it for myself. which I doubt will happen. and by the way, she looks gorgeous the way she is. leave the brows alone! I have seen ALOT worse!!!

It’s not so surprising when you know the story behind the story. Not many young people even know about “Hounddog” and even fewer people, young or old, know about its concepts and means of execution. Let’s just say this: When you take a 12 year old girl, play on her ego and ambitions, peddle her off into a landmark work of child pornography (for the purpose of extending her career… and profitability to her handlers), drill her in scenes that would land any non-Hollywood people in jail and expose her in public to ridicule when she’s led to defend it all with talking points that her exploiters have put in her mouth… well, what do you expect? Little Miss Well-Adjusted?

It should be noted that “Winged Creatures” was her first movie after “Hounddog”. Another cheap, R-rated film with sex and violence. It was all she could get. Like “Push” after it. This is what Hollywood’s youngest A-lister had sunk to. Is it any wonder she was out of control? This is a kid who’s been turned into a screen tramp.

That picture above taken at LAX on February 22, 2008, speaks volumes. On the day before her 14th birthday, she was coming back from Wilmington NC (the scene of her “Hounddog” desecration two years before) after spending 1 1/2 months unchaperoned on the set of “The Secret Life of Bees”. Only one free lance photog even noticed her. Look at her face and pose. There’s what’s left of America’s Daughter… the kid that everyone once loved. It’s saddening… and sickening.

Did somebody fart or are you all talking out of your arses? Who cares if she’s 14? Because she’s a celeb she has a responsibility to be more humble, especially if other 14 year olds start mimicking her. This world has plenty of bitchiness in it and we don’t need any more from some 14 year old millionaires that get their cheeky feelings hurt over nonsense. Either way, I still can’t believe the director put himself out there like that. This type is criticism is best saved for his chums and not the public. My $.02